Finding good employees for your team can be challenging. That’s why some hiring managers turn to temporary workers to solve their staffing problems. If you’re considering doing the same, here are some things you should know about employing temporary workers.
How to Get Started
For hiring managers that have never used temporary workers before, the whole process can seem mysterious. Your first step is to identify what you’re looking for in a temporary worker. While your temporary workers won’t be with the company for long, it’s still important that they have the right skills and experience.
After you’ve decided what roles the temp workers will fill, and what skills and experience they need to succeed, it’s time to write the job descriptions. It’s important to be specific when you’re writing job descriptions for temp workers. If you’re not specific, you could attract temp workers who aren’t able to complete the tasks you assign them.
Reading through resumes, selecting the best applicants, and bringing candidates in for interviews can be very time-consuming. After you’ve created job descriptions for your temporary employees, you may want to outsource the rest of the process to a staffing agency. The agency will find the best candidates.
The Benefits of Employing Temporary Workers
Temporary workers can benefit businesses in many ways, especially if they’re hired through a staffing agency. Since temporary workers are employees of the staffing agency, you don’t need to worry about things like onboarding paperwork. Your company also doesn’t need to pay for temporary workers’ medical benefits, sick days, or vacations, like it does for your own employees, so hiring managers may find it easier to get approval to hire temps.
Since staffing agencies have a wide pool of pre-screened candidates to choose from, you can get your temporary workers quickly. This is a major benefit, especially if you have a sudden vacancy that you need to fill right away. For example, if an employee quits without notice and you need to find a replacement, a temporary worker could save the day.
Temporary workers are also very useful for businesses that aren’t consistently busy throughout the year. If you hire enough full-time employees to handle the busy periods, they’ll have nothing to do during the slow times. If you staff adequately for the slow periods, you won’t have enough help when business picks back up again. Temporary workers solve this problem. When business picks up, simply bring on some temporary workers. When business slows down again, let the temps go.
Have you ever hired someone and then later realized that they were a bad fit for the job? Many hiring managers have had this experience, and employing temporary workers is a great way to test employees before you commit. If a temp does great work and fits in well with your team, you can later hire them full-time. If they aren’t a good fit, you can easily replace them with another temp.
Considerations When Employing Temporary Workers
Sometimes, there can be conflict between full-time employees and temporary workers. To reduce the risk of this happening, try to create a welcoming environment for your temps. Introduce them to the permanent workers they’ll be working with, and try to make them feel like they’re part of the team. For example, if you sometimes take your team out for lunch, invite the temps to come with you. While your temps may not be working at the company for long, ensuring they have a positive experience can help keep their morale and productivity high.
Temporary workers come with a lot of the administrative hiring details already taken care of, but you should provide additional training on-site. For example, if the temps will be working with machinery, train them before they start work. Show the temps where the company keeps health and safety equipment, like the eye wash station or first aid kit.
